CHP explains 8-hour I-5 closure

A truck involved in a police chase that began in Anaheim on Friday evening rests near the divide on the southbound I-5 near the Camino de Estrella overpass in San Clemente. The two-car crash resulted in an 8-hour closure of the southbound freeway. On Sunday, CHP officials said they needed the time to investigate an accident that might result in civil litigation. DAVID BRO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SAN CLEMENTE – The California Highway Patrol reported Sunday that it closed southbound I-5 for eight hours Friday to conduct an investigation into a two-car crash connected to a high-speed police chase.

The crash, which injured four people, happened just after 4 p.m. near Camino de Estrella.

The driver of a Ford F-250 pickup that had been reported stolen was driving up to 90 mph when the vehicle hit the rear of a Kia Optima before continuing into the center divider.

Twice the CHP deployed spike strips to stop the pickup, but the vehicle did not make contact, CHP Sgt. Greg Saulman said.

The chase started when the driver refused to be pulled over by Anaheim police. Officers pursued the truck onto the 57 freeway and the southbound I-5. The chase ended 16 minutes later, as Anaheim police were turning over the pursuit to the CHP.

CHP investigators from outside the area were called in to preserve evidence that could be used in prosecution of the driver and to defend the agency in the case of civil litigation related to the pursuit, Saulman said.

The pickup driver and two passengers were taken to Mission Hospital. The pickup driver, from Anaheim, was in critical condition. The driver of the Optima was taken to Saddleback Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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A truck involved in a police chase that began in Anaheim on Friday evening rests near the divide on the southbound I-5 near the Camino de Estrella overpass in San Clemente. The two-car crash resulted in an 8-hour closure of the southbound freeway. On Sunday, CHP officials said they needed the time to investigate an accident that might result in civil litigation. DAVID BRO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A CHP officer directs traffic at the Camino de Estrella overpass Friday night, following a crash that came at the end of a police chase. Traffic on the southbound lanes was re-routed off the freeway onto surface streets before continuing onto the I-5 freeway, snarling traffic for several hours. DAVID BRO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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